During yesterday’s visit Mr Cameron announced the rollout of new degree apprenticeships whereby young people could study for a degree, sponsored by a company, and get valuable experience in the workplace at the same time.

He praised BAE which is set to create a record 800 new apprenticeships in 2015. A new training academy is also to be opened at the company’s Samlesbury site, near Preston.

Mr Cameron said: “I think we should be incredibly proud of what this company does. Here you are, making the Typhoon, an aircraft that has proven itself again and again in the skies over Libya and Iraq and over the skies of our own country.”

He said the company had a key role to play in the economic recovery, and added: “I say we need to train more young people and you are investing in more apprentices.

“I say we need to export to other parts of the world, and you are blazing a trail in exports.”

The Prime Minister said he was committed to defence spending, and wanted to set aside £16bn a year to spend on defence equipment over the next 10 years.

He told a gathering of BAE workers and apprentices from across Lancashire: “I am your unpaid sales staff. I look to go around the world and encourage our partners and allies to buy the equipment you make.

“If I am re-elected, I will go on supporting your sales to countries around the world. I am committed to spending £160bn over 10 years, so we can plan for the future.”

Apprentices from Myerscough College, near Garstang, were among the audience.

Ashley Roache, 19, from Fleetwood, who is an apprentice groundsman at Fleetwood Town FC, said; “What the Prime Minister said sounded good for bringing more apprenticeships to the area. Apprenticeships are probably the only way of getting into the football industry.”